I have to give you this little story about an incident a few days ago. I can only talk about it now, as it took a while for the other person to seeing the funny side.
I was invited to dinner by one of my new work colleges, Guillem, who also like me an ex-pat, working here, but actually resides in a small village just outside of Madrid in Spain. His wife was visiting Amsterdam for a few days and as they have no children yet, they do have their beloved red setter, which he has told me about on many occassions. With the arrangements hatched, we set off after work to the local bar, before finally arriving at his house around 7pm. He opened the door and let me in first.
As I entered, the dog naturally jumped up excited of this new aroma visiting his abode. When Guillem entered the house he immediately hugged the dog and kissed him or her. A full on the lips kiss to his dog. Now not being a dog lover myself, I find this hard to fathom, but can understand another person's love for an animal that they care about deeply. It was what happened next that struck me. His wife came into the living room and without a flicker, Guillem got up from wrestling the dog and kissed his wife.
To say I was dumbstruck is an understatement. You see where we come from (ghetto street) first it is unusual to see a black person with a dog, other than protecting your house or because you elevated to that height of dealer. (The level before you're entrusted with the mac-10) So the relationship you have with your dog is different. I've been to people's houses with dogs and seen them physically abuse that dog for no other purpose than to adminster control. To them the dog has a purpose. Protection. So to make the dog, mamsy would be to the detriment of you and your possessions. I never seen a black person kiss a dog. Ever. Yes hug and stroke and all those things, but kiss dog, like you kiss woman. And then kiss woman. Wah!! When Guillem's wife came to give me that standard greeting kiss, I offered my hand for her to shake, styling it out, that I didn't want to cause any embaressment, by doing tongues. The moment passed, but it didn't leave my mind. With the dog safely tucked out of harm's way, dinner went down well, without any of the oink, washed down with a vintage Spanish port. As I left the table to visit the toilet, to the right at the top of the landing lay the dog. On their bed!! I though raaas, thats how the people live when they not in the office. Kiss and sleep with dog. The rest of the evening passed without incident, but when I got home, Oprah was on TV and was talking about Dog training and how you can train your dog to not jump up on you and x amount of other foolishness. I was only watching because the porn channels had not yet started and there was no football that evening. And then I saw it. I saw Oprah, live on National TV, kiss her dog. Is this the reason, why she hasn't married Steadman yet? I was hooked, watching Oprah, be given training in to how to handle and master her three little dogs. The following day, I decided that I am old-school and need to move with the times. So I logged on to Amazon and bought a book entitled, 'How to love your dog for life'. Although I do not have a dog or have no intention of getting a dog, now or in the near future, ever (just in case the children are reading) I thought it may help me understand dog life better and not to be so judgemental when dealing with them. Looking forward to the book arriving next week.
tspoon
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